BLM oil and gas lease sale nets $426,322

DENVER--Today, the Bureau of Land Management Colorado State Office sold 10 of 19 parcels offered at its quarterly oil and gas lease sale, totaling 9,114.93 acres sold. The highest per-acre price was for a 600.25 acre parcel in Park County that sold to Land Energy Inc. for $110 per acre. The high bonus bid of $216,000 was made by Land Energy Inc. for a parcel also in Park County. Overall, the lease sale earned $426,322 in total proceeds, with 49 percent to go to the State of Colorado.

The State of Colorado received more than $229.4 million in Fiscal Year 2009 from royalties, rentals and bonus bid payments for all federal minerals, including coal.

A lease is the first step for a company or individual before eventually applying to develop and produce oil and gas from the BLM-managed public mineral estate. Additional planning, environmental analysis and public input must occur before drilling activity can begin.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2013, the BLM generated $4.7 billion in receipts from public lands.